Bites of My Life

My apartment feels like the loneliest place ever lately. Is anyone else feeling this? Even after back to back weekends away with friends, the week days are long, boring and isolating. There’s no way else to say it.

My mom and I were talking earlier this morning and the quote unquote good parts of quarantine and coronavirus, like the slow down, the quality time, etc. is fading and the loneliness is creeping back in fast. I’m lucky to be in Dallas which is decently reopened. This week I’m really really trying to plan more reasons to get out. I’m normally a stickler on money during the week but I don’t care if I have to spend $8 on a pricy coffee, I’m getting out and working from a coffee shop at some point everyday this week. Even if it’s still just me going to work alone, I need the social stimulation of other humans around me. If you are feeling the same, I challenge you to actively get out of the house this week. We need it.

-Prettiest spaghetti squash and meat sauce I ever did see.
-I saw Gaby’s customized spatula for the Williams Sonoma/No Kid Hungry campaign and had to have it. It’s covered in CCCs for goodness sake!
-Got to have lunch and tour the new Fuzzy’s Taco Shop corporate office with some friends from the company last week. If you are new here I work remotely for a restaurant group based in OKC, who owns the Oklahoma Fuzzy’s franchise along with a few other restaurants.
-WFH break by working from a favorite coffee shop and getting an afternoon turmeric latte.
-Banana bread baked up for the lake weekend. My tried and true recipe can be found here.
-The South Texas mecca that is H-E-B. We have Central Market in Dallas that is the upscale version, but it’s not the same supermarket goodness that is HEB.
-Got the gang all back together and out on Lake LBJ with thanks to Captain Kirby aka my friend Lauren’s husband!
-My KKG besties in one place is always a treat. We started this reunion trip last year and are hoping for longevity through the years.
-Haven’t had Chipotle in about a year, but the craving hit and needed to be fulfilled.

Annie

Bites of My Life

Home after such a great Labor Day weekend in the Colorado with some really great friends. We booked this trip on a whim over the 4th of July and I’ve been looking forward to it since. We stayed in Beaver Creek, but ventured to Edwards, Minturn and Vail. This part of the mountains is an area I have such fun memories from growing up and it’s always a blast to revisit. Our weekend was the perfect mix of eating, drinking, hiking, shopping, seeing, doing and relaxing. Coming home to a short week is the perfect cure, and then I’m off again this weekend to spend time on Lake LBJ with my best college friends. Feeling very thankful for friends and family lately.

-Have you seen the Slim Aarons documentary? I recently caught wind of it, even though it came out a few years ago. It’s fascinating to learn more about his life. You can watch it here.
-A go-to meal that always hits the spot is spaghetti sauce with meat sauce. It feels indulgent like spaghetti, but is healthy and light all things considered. I bought an extra squash and froze some leftover sauce to have for a healthy meal after getting home from my trip. It was the best to come home to.
-When the tortilla chip craving HITS. These restaurant-style Beanitos are my absolute fave grain-free chips.
-This was my first plane ride since the pandemic. While our American Airlines flight was booked at full capacity, I did feel safe and healthy with zero fears.
-First night in Beaver Creek called for cozy Italian at Ti Amo. I split the chicken and sausage scallopini over angel hair.
-Traded in our Tini Tuesdays for a full weekend in the mountains!
-If you are headed to the Beaver Creek/Vail area, I highly recommend Mountain Standard in Vail for lunch or dinner. We lucked out with walking in, but a reservation is a good idea. You must get the pimento cheese with bacon jam, grilled bread, and pickled celery.
-Already missing morning coffee and evening wine and cheese hour on the beautiful patio at the house we stayed at in BC.
-We had bought produce at the farmers market and had planned on a homecooked Sunday night dinner, but after indulging on dips and crackers and cookie dough, we called that dinner and saved our ingredients to make for a healthy lunch before hopping on our plane ride home.

Annie

Byte Bites: if you missed Friday’s new post style, check it out here!

Bites of My Life

I hadn’t really baked in what felt like forever, and I was itching. I stocked up on butter and sugar and got a surge of creativity in the kitchen. The result were these Blueberry Cardamom Pop-Tarts, Dark Chocolate, Orange, and Fig Blondies and an oldie but goodie recipe for Snickerdoodles. Baking is good for my soul and I’m glad I was reminded of that.

In addition to baking, there was a lot of dog time this past week. If you know me well you know I’m not a huuuuge dog person. I grew up with dogs, but have held strong on the fact that now is not the time to be tied down by the responsibility and cost. Like for a lot of people, once quarantine hit the idea of having a dog became exciting. I’ve had the idea on my mind since. I was around two of my good friends this weekend, one who just got the cutest puppy and the other who has the sweetest 4 year old golden. Granted these are two very well behaved pups, but they are really softening my thoughts around the whole thing…should I do it?

-Gone are the days that yard signs and balloon numbers are enough in Highland Park, TX. Full tree streamers and garland are now the musts when it comes to celebrating birthdays. So over the top, but honestly incredible.
-Blueberry Cardamom Pop-Tarts, the first recipe of the week. Any other cardamom fans out there? It pairs so good with the blueberry and is great for this time of year.
-Some may remember I posted a round up of all of the Trader Joe’s bagged salad mixes. Well they have a few new mixes on the shelves, so I had to update my post with a new fave or two. Check it out here before you go to TJs next!
-Second recipe post of the week, these fig blondies. They took a few tries to get right, but they are worth it for the amount of blondies that filled my kitchen this week.
-Full on Rent the Runway look for a sassy Friday GNO! I’m wildly obsessed with this purse and ended up buying this little black strapless top! If you haven’t already checked it out, I share all of my RTR finds on my new insta account @confessionsofarentaholic.
-Saturday snickerdoodles! Underrated but always good. While often overlooked, who doesn’t love a snickerdoodle?
-Perfect Saturday night with lots of cheese, The Defined Dish watermelon cocktail, and puppy snuggles with little Chica!!
-Sunday was a rainy and moody day, so I treated myself to a lavender matcha from my favorite place and was surprised with the message “we love you!” on my cup sleeve. Just what I needed.
-Ended the weekend with pjs, pancakes and Brinkley on my lap while having a Nora Ephron movie marathon with a few friends. And yes Brinkley is named after Tom Hanks’ dog Brinkley in Nora’s movie You’ve Got Mail.

Annie

Bites of My Life

I feel like I’ve put in more time driving up and down I-35 than my own job these days. All for good reasons, but I’m slightly relieved to be back in Dallas for the foreseeable future. I’ll be forever grateful for my choice to move to Dallas and have close proximity to run home for family, friend and work occasions, but it’s sometimes a strange place to be in going back and forth so much. Beggars can’t be choosers though! You guessed it, but I was in Oklahoma over the weekend for a best friend since 4th grade getting engaged. Another one bites the dust.

-Started the week with sunflowers. Highly recommend.
-Little Monday night creativity turned into my new favorite piece of apartment art work.
-Snacking like it’s my job these days. Anyone else relying on the afternoon snack with working from home.
-Y’all know it, y’all love it. My ultimate single girl meal is Cauliflower Fried Rice using freezer and pantry staples.
-Wine Wednesday feat. rosé, popcorn, and my new coffee table.
-When in Oklahoma City. You can find my favorite Brandy Ice roundup here, and my own recipe here.
-Brunch with MaryKate Saturday, but with an alliterative motive…she just didn’t know yet.
-About an hour later she was engaged! Brunch was a decoy to get her out of the house and looking cute, for her now-fiancé Connor to propose in the house that will be their home!
-Slow Sunday night back in Dallas watching old seasons of The Bachelorette.

Annie

Why, when, and how I started my blog, did you catch it?

Bites of My Life

Last week was pretty slow. Wake up, workout, work, eat, sleep repeat. I was happy to be home for the weekend to recharge and see a bunch of people I love. I wouldn’t categorize myself as a homebody per se, but I always feel good after a few days back in Oklahoma City. 1. to see my fam and friends who I miss all the time and 2. to remind myself that home is always there and Dallas is an adventure I’m not done pursuing!

-Really really loving my new desk set up. If you are working from home and haven’t invested in a true work space, I highly encourage it for more mental clarity and better productivity.
-This breakfast on repeat last week. Ezekiel toast, almond butter, sliced banana, cinnamon, tahini drizzle and chia seeds!
-Leftover enchiladas made for a really happy lunch break.
-This morning detox drink inspired by my friend Lauren had me feeling so good last week. I would even make it after lunch sometimes or before bed per her suggestion. Recipe here.
-Have you started following my new passion project @confessionsofarentaholic? I rented this band tee (that I ended up buying!!) along with some other goodies last week.
-The same day my “What I Eat in a Day” post went live, I shamelessly indulged in the best ice cream ever. Felt great about it. Don’t miss the post, you can read it here. After posting a picture of Cookie Two Step, I had a handful of people let me know I needed to try the new Cookie Cake and Cookie Dough Overload. Anyone had them?
-Scooted up to OKC for a wedding, but made sure to make a stop at the new Bradford House while in town. Go for breakfast, cocktails or snacks, skip on dinner IMO!
-Some of the best!! I love my friends in Dallas, but I miss my Oklahoma gal pals on the daily.
-We love the maid of honor! Family friend weddings are always a blast with this crew.

Annie

Podcast bite: I don’t talk much about being single on the blog, but if you too are single and struggling or in a place of needing encouragement I wanted to share this podcast episode I was lucky to be on last week with my friend Dr. Julie Shannon.